Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Hacipasa, Hatay, Turkey. At the peak of Turkey’s oil smuggling boom, the main transit point was a dusty hamlet called Hacipasa on the Orontes River that marks the border with Syria, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Hacipasa has been a smuggling haven for decades, authorities and residents say. The fuel had come from oil wells in Iraq or Syria controlled by militants, including the Islamic State group, and was sold to middle men who smuggled it across the Turkish-Syrian border.

Syria Makes Russian-Brokered Deal With Kurds To Counter Turkey

Syria appears to have cut a Russian-brokered deal with the Kurdish YPG and the Manbij Military Council.

by Jason Ditz

Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Hacipasa, Hatay, Turkey. At the peak of Turkey’s oil smuggling boom, the main transit point was a dusty hamlet called Hacipasa on the Orontes River that marks the border with Syria, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Hacipasa has been a smuggling haven for decades, authorities and residents say. The fuel had come from oil wells in Iraq or Syria controlled by militants, including the Islamic State group, and was sold to middle men who smuggled it across the Turkish-Syrian border.

Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Hacipasa, Hatay, Turkey near the border with Syria, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014.

(REPORT) — Back in August, Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria focused a lot on seizing ISIS territory along the border. At this point, all the easily claimable ISIS cities are gone, and Turkey’s forces are increasingly bumping up against the forces of the Syrian government.

In al-Bab, Turkish forces took the city, but Syrian troops took the immediate south, effectively cutting off any deeper Turksih advances. Clashes between Turkey-backed rebels erupted, but eventually both started moving eastward, toward the important, Kurdish-held city of Manbij.

Today, Syria appears to have cut a deal with the Kurdish YPG and the Manbij Military Council to cut Turkey off at the pass, with Russia brokering an agreement in which some of the villages ringing Manbij will be handed over to the Syrian government’s control.

The deal aims to allow the Syrian military to ring the Kurdish-held city, which would prevent Turkey from directly invading Manbij, something they’ve long threatened to do. It remains to be seen how Turkey will respond to this deal, as they are party to a ceasefire with the Syrian government and other factions, but would have a much longer trek to find new Kurdish or ISIS targets to attack.

 

You Might Also Like

Comments
Featured Videos
Socail Media Censorship Feature photo

Social Media Censorship Reaches New Heights as Twitter Permanently Bans Dissent

Mnar Muhawesh speaks with journalist Daniel McAdams about being permanently banned from Twitter, social media censorship and more.

Media Backs Billionaire President as Chileans Protest Privatization

As millions gather in Santiago and whole families march against privatization and rising inequality, the corporate media is busy defending Chile’s billionaire president.

Cindy Sheehan Feature photo

Rage Against the War Machine: An Interview with Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan

An interview with anti-war campaigner Cindy Sheehan on how liberals learned to love her, her clash with the Women’s March and more.

How Holes in the Burning Saudi Oil Fields Narrative Could Draw the US Into a War With Iran

It is inconceivable to the United States that a “rag-tag” force like Yemen’s Houthis might, with home-made weapons, outdo the hundred-billion-dollar might and sophistication of the state-of-the-art systems Washington has lavished upon the Saudis.